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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I overcame Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are due a win.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Stingray's prediction: With this being at the Bridge, I am going to back Chelsea. I think they will start off really well and go 2-0 up, then Everton will nick one back but then Chelsea score late. 3-1
AI's prediction: 2-0
Liverpool vs Brighton
Anfield, 15:00 GMT
I'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - but I do think they can get something at Anfield.
Sutton's prediction: 2-2
Stingray's prediction: This is a game which is going to give Liverpool a bit more of their confidence back. Obviously they had a good win in midweek and they can build more momentum here. 2-1
AI's prediction: 3-1
Sunday, 14 December
Sunderland vs Newcastle
Stadium of Light, 14:00 GMT
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
